Author: Brandon Peoples

The Manhattan Housing Authority and UFM Community Learning Center are receiving a $1.5 million grant to support a local pre-apprenticeship program. The U.S. Department of Labor recently announced $90 million in funds to workforce development programs nationwide. MHA’s YouthBuild program will train young people in construction, allowing anyone from ages 16 to 24 to learn about builds and rehabilitations of affordable housing. Executive Director Aaron Estabrook spoke about the goal of the program on a recent edition of KMAN’s In Focus. The program will be open to young people aged 16 to 24, who will divide their time between classroom…

Earlier this month, Wareham Hall Inc., the nonprofit organization working to revitalize the Wareham Opera House in downtown Manhattan, received a $250,000 grant from the State Park Revitalization & Investment in Notable Tourism (SPRINT) program. President Blade Mages says the funding, part of $30 million in tourism grants from leftover American Rescue Plan Act funds, will go toward some needed facility upgrades. Wareham Hall was one of 18 recipients in Kansas of the tourism grants. Mages says as important as the money is, it’s also good to have a balance in fundraising, between state, private and corporate support. As for how…

AAA is projecting that 42.3 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more for Memorial Day weekend, a 7% increase over last year. In Kansas, it’s estimated that 385,000 people will be traveling for the holiday, a jump of 8% over last year. Driving vacations will make up 88.5% of the travel, with nearly 341,000 people taking to the highways, up 5.4% from last year. More than 32,000 Kansans will fly to their destinations, an 8.3% jump from last year. AAA says its anticipating the third busiest Memorial Day weekend since 2000, when the agency started tracking holiday travel. As…

A seventh candidate has entered the race for one of four seats on the Manhattan-Ogden School Board this fall. In an emailed statement to media Thursday, Courtney Jane Hochman noted she believes in full inclusion of all students, calling it a path to student success and success of the district. If elected, Hochman says she wants to work to expand the school meals program and help better define the aims of public education in USD 383. “I hope USD 383 can follow Topeka in securing free meals for more students, if not all our students. School meals are an invaluable…

The Manhattan Fire Department responded to a fire this (THU) morning at a south Manhattan duplex. Firefighters were dispatched just after 10 a.m. to 1006 Pottawatomie Court, containing the fire within 10 minutes. The occupant was not home at the time. A cat was rescued from the home and treated by firefighters and Riley County EMS. Total loss is estimated at $35,000 to the structure and contents. The property is owned by Manhattan Housing Authority. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

After years of collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate, a ribbon cutting and dedication ceremony was held Wednesday at the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility. The ceremony lasted close to two hours on the west lawn of the facility and included a panel conversation moderated by Dr. Simon Liu, USDA ARS Administrator. The panel included USDA MRP Under Secretary Jenny Lester Moffitt, USDA REE Under Secretary Dr. Chavonda Jacobs-Young and DHS S&T Office of Innovation and Collaboration Executive Director Julie Brewer. The $1.25 billion laboratory is the first with biosafety…

Manhattan City Commissioners on Tuesday were presented a six-year review of street maintenance and Safe Routes to Schools projects. Public Works Director Rob Ott says the city has a current Pavement Condition Index (PCI) of about 70, meaning most of the city’s paved arterials are at a fair to satisfactory level. But questions remain over whether the current two-tenths percent sales tax is generating enough funds to help the city address a $57 million backlog of future projects, and the tax scheduled to sunset in 2026. City Manager Ron Fehr says commissioners need to start thinking about renewal or potentially seeking voter…

Pottawatomie County Treasurer Lisa Wright informed commissioners Monday of a clerical error, made by the County Clerk’s office, involving two local townships. Wright says a member of one of the two impacted township boards informed her office recently that the money being distributed to them from the county was going into the wrong funds. “We saw that the levies had been flopped and one of them had miscalculated values,” she said. Wright says Assistant County Administrator Heather Gladbach has reached out to the State of Kansas about a potential fix, but estimates it will likely not get corrected for another…

Work toward a new Riley County Comprehensive Plan is moving along. During Monday’s commission meeting, Planning Director Amanda Webb noted she had planned on having a committee together to work through a plan by late May or early June. However, she says delays, such as not having a readily-available consultant just yet to not having a survey completed, have caused that deadline to be pushed back. “So looking at probably July at this point. I have reached out to the folks who have expressed interest. I want to keep them aware and to have them please let me know if that…

Kansas State University has announced that Brad Behnke will serve as interim dean in the College of Health and Human Sciences, effective July 1. Behnke, a professor and associate dean of research and graduate studies, was appointed following an internal search, replacing Craig Harms, who is stepping down after serving in the interim role since July 2021. A national search will be conducted to fill the deanship. As interim dean, Behnke will serve as chief academic and administrative officer of the college. The Cherokee Nation citizen is an award-winning researcher, recognized with many university and professional honors, including the 2021…